Personality of plants

PERSONALITY OF PLANTS
Certain plants manufacture lime and metal-
lic oxides with which to harden the protective
armour they wear. Many others generate nit-
ric acid, carbonic acid and ammonia for use in
their interior laboratories. Roots nearly always
secrete a fluid which aids in the absorption of
minerals from the earth. It is so powerful that
quartz, flint and limestone are often scratched
and corroded by its action. Above and below
ground, plants are active chemical laboratories.
The differences of taste, smell and colour
which characterize leaves, blossoms and fruits
are due to the presence of various organic compounds.
These are largely volatile oils which
are more complex than the substances involved
in the simpler life processes. The slow or rapid
evaporation of these oils influences the strength
and character of an odour. When a flower or
fruit passes through infinite gradations of
colour, we can give no adequate account of the
chemical changes involved. All we can do is
to observe and to note. Sometimes infusions of
iron sulphate or other chemicals in the soil
darken the hues of flowers. Gardeners profit by
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